Single cell and low input proteomics represent major challenges and opportunities for biomedical technology development. Even in bulk studies, assays such as microarray expression profiling are frequently substituted for protein-level characterization due to the technical complexity inherent to proteomics. Although unbiased nucleic acid analysis (e.g. transcriptomics) is essential to a complete molecular description of any biological system, a quantitative handle on protein abundance and modification is an absolute requirement for defining complex cellular phenotypes.
Current proteomic technologies fall into two basic categories: 1) high-sensitivity approaches that require the use of affinity reagents, such as antibodies; and 2) low-sensitivity protein identification by mass spectrometry (MS).
This new method bridges this gap by providing protein identification with single molecule sensitivity without the use of affinity reagents like antibodies.